


By Your Side

by jessis



Series: After the [E]nd [2]
Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 20:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17250665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessis/pseuds/jessis
Summary: 2B had a rough day and 9S has the perfect solution.





	By Your Side

**Author's Note:**

> My take on a possible bath scene between the two. This takes place sometime after my previous work, 'Mine Is the Hand to Hold'. You don't have to read the other for this one to make sense but I am considering everything in this particular series to be in the same universe!
> 
> Rating is just in case but this is pretty sfw and mostly fluff.

A scowl crossed 2B’s features as she looked down at the ground. The toe of her boot came into contact with a medium sized rock and she exerted force to send it sailing forward. It whizzed past one of the resistance members feet and slammed into the back of a nearby boulder before snapping in two. A voice traveled up to her auditory sensors from behind her and she registered it as the voice of 9S.

“You alright, 2B?”

2B abruptly stopped and turned on her heels to face 9S, causing him to almost crash right into her. He took a step back and righted himself before giving her a confused but curious look. She pursed her lips before giving a terse but strained reply.

“I’m fine.”

As if to signal the end of their encounter, she turned right back on her heels to continue following the caravan in front of her. She didn’t need to look back to know 9S was right behind her. He always was. This thought somehow relaxed her and she didn’t even realize that a smile had formed on her face. YoRHa was gone and feelings were no longer prohibited but old habits die hard, she guesses.

The entrance to the resistance camp came into view as they rounded the corner of a building and she sighed in relief. They’d been escorting these supplies all day. Despite most of the machine network being down there were still plenty of hostiles roaming the roads which required a bit of muscle in order to safely transport materials. Which is where 2B came in to play. She’d been fighting the damn things all day with no breaks in between despite the insistence of 9S. She was exhausted and if that wasn’t enough, they’d had to maneuver through mud and muck on the way and she was filthy with no bunker to go back to.

“Oh god, finally!”

9S yelled out from behind her in equal parts exhaustion and relief by the sound of it.

“I feel disgusting. I cannot wait to get inside and take a much needed bath.”

2B had to hold back her quip about baths being unnecessary. Without the bunker for maintenance they would have to rely on other means to keep clean. This was her only body from now on and she was going to have to find some way to keep it in one piece. What an absolute pain.

“Hey, 2B.”

At some point while she was immersed in her thoughts, 9S had sidled up to her side to match her pace and rested his hand on her upper arm. He gave her sleeve a light tug as she met his gaze.

“You should give bathing a try. Without the bunker we have no real reliable way to get clean. Besides, you might enjoy it! I promise it’s really relaxing.”

She raised a brow at him despite her visor covering the action.

“Sure.”

9S suddenly linked his arm with her, face brightening up.

“Wait, really!? Great!”

He was now clinging to her arm as they made their way through the camp’s entrance right behind the rest of the caravan.

“I’ll set it up for you then! You can just use everything I have. You can take one first if you want to. I can wait. You look like you need it more than I do. I told you that you should have taken a break! Don’t wear yourself out too much-”

2B reached behind her head with her free hand to untie her visor and remove it. She gripped it lightly in her hand and exhaled a heavy, tired sigh.

“Nines, let’s just take one together. It’s easier that way.”

By this point they’d reached the door to where the bathing area was and 9S was eerily silent at her words. She looked over at him, wondering why he was so quiet when he’d usually be rambling endlessly despite her short responses. She was surprised to find him looking at her with wide eyes. Was that apprehension she detected on his face? Nervousness?

“Oh- I- Yeah, I mean. I guess that would be one way to show you how to bathe…”

She took advantage of his arm linked with hers and, after opening the door to the bath, dragged him into the room. He stumbled a bit as he followed her pull and she kicked the door closed behind them. Now that they were out of the view of prying eyes she let herself relax, exhaustion creeping onto her face. She knew without even looking that her face gave away just how much she wanted to collapse right then and there and 9S gave her a smile, hand coming up to trail his fingers along her jawline in silent understanding.

“I’ll get the bath started.”

9S disconnected himself from her arm and set to work on getting the bath ready. While he did this, 2B leaned up against the wall and took in her surroundings. The room they were in wasn’t very big. It contained a bathtub and shower stall along with a small sink. This was only one of just a few similar rooms at the resistance camp. Androids didn’t need to, or perhaps didn’t see the need to, bathe regularly so it probably didn’t get too much use but it was there in case it was needed.

There was a small table near the door to the room that she assumed was for either towels or clothing or something similar. This prompted her to push off the wall and work on removing her boots and tights, which were starting to feel increasingly uncomfortable due to mud having slipped into the cracks at the top. Once they were off, she grimaced at how caked with mud her legs were.

“Hey uhh… 2B?”

2B looked up to find that 9S had at some point removed his own visor and was nervously fidgeting next to the bathtub. His shoes and gloves were off and flung into the corner of the room.

“It’s actually probably better if we shower first before we get into the tub. Don’t want to bathe in muddy water.”

She looked down to slip her own gloves off as she responded.

“That sounds… unappealing.”

9S laughed softly and agreed with her before walking over to the shower stall and pointing at a bottle of light colored liquid.

“Okay, so. This is soap. You just squeeze it out onto a washcloth, lather it up, and then wipe yourself down with it.”

He did motions with his hand as he explained this and she watched on in mild amusement at how animated he was.

“The one next to it is for your hair. It’s some special one androids down here created that works with the fibers in our hair. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. It smells good though. Anyway, you just use it kind of like the soap except for you work it into your hair. Just don’t… get it into your eyes. I learned that the hard way…”

She watched him rest his hands on his hips and purse his lip in what she guessed was thought before he spoke again.

“I guess I’ll turn the water on for you and then let you do your thing. I can, uh, leave the room if you want. Or turn the other way.”

His face turned slightly red as he looked down at the ground and she had to contain herself from making a noise out loud at how precious he looked when he was embarrassed.

“We’re taking one together, aren’t we? Would defeat the purpose of that if you left the room.”

She watched in fascination as his face got even redder, if possible.

“R-right.”

2B wasn’t ignorant. She was fully aware of why he was acting the way he was about bathing with her. It involved both of them being completely naked and exposed to each other. It’s not that she wasn’t able to be embarrassed about such a thing. On the contrary, she’d never actually been without all of her clothes in front of anyone in a way such as this. Not that it was anything in the realm of sexual in the least bit. At the very least it was some form of intimacy, however.

Her fingers tugged at the knot on her skirt until it came free and she grasped the fabric before pulling it away from her body and setting it neatly with the rest of her clothes. At some point in her internal thought processes, 9S had turned the shower on and removed all of his own clothing except his black undershirt and shorts. She watched him with a blank expression on her face as she grasp the hidden zipper on her top and dragged it down.

Once she was clad only in her leotard she wore underneath her clothing, 9S turned around to face away from her as if giving her some privacy while he pulled his shirt up over his head. She grasped the straps on it and tugged it down until it pooled on the floor around her feet. That too was then placed in a neat pile with the rest of her clothing before she stepped underneath the water spraying from the showerhead above.

The hot water felt amazing on her strained and sore muscles and she sighed in content at the feel of the water pelting against her skin. Out of the corner of her vision she saw 9S take a step backwards, now fully unclothed as well but facing away from her still and fidgeting. She had to chuckle at this and reached out to grasp his arm to tug him under the shower next to her. He made sputtering noises as the water hit his face.

“2- 2B! Warn me next time!”

Now that she was around the same height as him since those infernal heeled boots of hers were off, she easily was able to lean in and press a kiss to his red cheek.

“This is supposed to be relaxing, right? So relax. You’re making me nervous with all your fidgeting.”

9S kept his eyes averted from her but nodded in response.

“You’re right. Sorry. I- Here.”

He reached out to the ledge to grab a clean washcloth and wet it before pouring a decent amount of the clear liquid he had earlier pointed out to her to be soap. After doing so he handed her the soap filled cloth.

“You should wash off first. I think you have it worse off than I do.”

She took the cloth from him, muttering a ‘thank you’, and then started to scrub off all the caked on mud that was on her. Admittedly, it felt quite nice to do so. The cloth was soft but textured enough to get rid of the mud and dirt on her and leave her skin feeling smoother than it had before she’d done so. She could see why 9S liked it so much. She nudged his arm with the cloth in her hand once she was finished.

“Your turn.”

He blindly reached out to take the cloth from her hands, still refusing to look her way. It was frustrating her but she said nothing. He started to wash himself as he nodded towards the bottles on the shelf.

“Now you wash your hair. It’s the one I didn’t use yet.”

2B followed his quiet but short, and completely out of character if she must say, instructions and started to attempt to clean her hair but was at a loss for what to do. He didn’t mention using a towel so did she just… rub it in with her hands? She stared at the liquid she’d poured into her palm, brows furrowed in confusion.

“...Nines.”

He’d just finished washing himself and was under the water, washing away the soap when he hummed in response. She hissed out through her teeth, more embarrassed by the coming question than being naked in front of him.

“How do I do this? Turn around and show me?”

It wasn’t really a question and more of a demand phrased as a question. 9S made a grunt from the back of his throat before turning around very… very slowly. Too slow for her tastes. He finally faced her but his eyes darted everywhere but her as he held out his hand. She grasped his hand with her empty one and turned her other hand to pour the liquid into his palm. He started to lather the soap as he made eye contact with her briefly.

“It’ll be easier if you face the other way…”

She silently answered the request by rotating herself until she was facing away from him. Immediately once she was she felt fingers in her hair as he scrubbed the soap into it. They stayed in complete silence as he washed her hair for her and she realized with slight embarrassment that it was a simple enough task she could have handled herself. She admitted to herself she really just wanted him to do it for her.

After he was finished, she stepped underneath the water again to wash it out, careful not to get it in her eyes like he had warned about earlier. While she did this, 9S washed his own hair. They switched places so he could wash his hair out and then he made a beeline for the bathtub and turned the knob so hot water started pouring out into it. She stood underneath the shower water, enjoying the heat, as she watched him start fidgeting again.

9S’ continuous fidgeting was starting to get on her nerves slightly and she had to talk herself down from snapping at him again. She had to remember he was just nervous about being undressed or seeing her undressed. He was a scanner and his personality was far different from hers. This made her suddenly feel a little guilty about how she was speaking to him. Perhaps the day had been rough on her but that was no reason to take it out on him.

Once the bath was full, she turned the knob on the shower like she’d seen him do, effectively shutting off the water. He climbed into the bath and she followed soon after and took her place on the opposite end of the tub. It wasn’t a very big tub and their legs were pressed up against each other but she paid it no mind. She sunk into the water until it was up to her chin and let out a heavy sigh. He was definitely right. After a day like today, this felt amazing.

“It’s… it’s nice, right?”

2B looked up at him, her expression softening as she saw the hopeful look on his face.

“It is. Thank you, Nines. And…”

She gave him a small smile.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so… short with you.”

His face lit up with a bright smile and he finally seemed to relax into the tub himself.

“It’s alright. I’m just glad I can share this with you.”

He reached out to rest his hand on her knee and gave it a light squeeze. She felt the sudden need to grasp his hand in hers and an even further need to hold him close to her but she settled with resting her hand on his. 2B figured she could always hold him close when they went to sleep since he always slept with her anyway these days. 9S, in the midst of her thinking about him, had turned his hand over in favor of grasping her hand in his.

“Hey… 2B?”

She met his gaze after being jolted out of her thoughts once again. She’d been doing that a lot today, it seems.

“You’ve been spacing out a lot today. Is there something on your mind?”

2B wondered if he was a mind reader but perhaps it was just that he was, after all, a scanner model. Or perhaps just very attentive of her in particular.

“Oh. No. Just- It was a long day.”

He gave her an unconvincing look, almost sad, but said nothing in return. Just nodded his head in response. She felt even guiltier than she had before, surmising that he had hoped she would open up to him.

“I was thinking about you.”

9S’ head shot up at her follow up comment, now looking quite curious and, to her relief, no longer sad. He trailed his fingers along the artificial muscles and tendons in her wrist, never breaking his gaze on her.

“About… me? What about me?”

Her expression stayed impassive, never quite giving away how she was feeling about admitting this to him. Inside, however, she was… nervous? This was a new feeling.

“Wondering how you manage to be so bright when everything is so dull. It’s… endearing.”

His lips curled up into a grin and he tugged on her hand to bring it up to his face before pressing a kiss to her wrist.

“That’s easy to answer. Everything is so much brighter when you’re by my side.”

She pursed her lips and looked away, anywhere but his face, as she tried to keep her face in a neutral expression. She envied his ability to so easily show his emotions and express them so readily. It’s not that she was unable to show emotion, she was just too good and too used to hiding them. A tug on her arm brought her attention back to him and her brows furrowed at the expression on his face. He was smiling but he looked… embarrassed? Shy? Nervous? Was it possible to feel all of that at once, she wonders. Emotions were so confusing.

“I think that’s what humans referred to as... love? ...Am I allowed to say that?”

Love? Is that what this feeling was? There was only so much information on the concept and she hadn’t really ever bothered to read about it. Emotions were, after all, prohibited. Up until she woke up again she hadn’t let herself feel anything and if she did, she’d endlessly mentally berate herself until it was squashed under her proverbial foot. She guesses maybe what they had _was_ love.

“Oh.”

2B muttered out the response only to see a look of panic and sadness cross 9S’ features. A look she desperately did not want to see so she cupped his chin instead and pulled him close enough to press a quick kiss to his lips before giving him a proper reply.

“Go ahead. I… want to hear you say it.”

9S cupped her cheeks, giving her a look that she could only, reliably describe as what she assumed was love.

“2B, I… I love you.”

She leaned into his touch as she brought her hand up to hold his hand on her cheek, giving him a small, relaxed smile.

“It sounds nice when you say it. Can I… I want to hear it again.”

She watched him shift his position so he was closer to her in the tub, never once letting go of her face as he did. Once he was settled again, he stroked her cheek and jawline lightly.

“I love you, 2B.”

As if suddenly realizing the gravity of what he was saying, her face heated up but she kept eye contact with him, her smile growing in size. This was probably the biggest smile she thinks she’s ever worn though it paled in comparison to his.

“God, 2B. You have such a gorgeous smile.”

He grinned widely at her and she felt her defenses melting at this.

“If that’s what this feeling is… I- I love you too, Nines.”

9S leaned in to nudge his nose against hers, smiling like he’d just won some big prize, and 2B couldn’t help thinking his far outdid hers by a large margin. He always looked so brilliant when he smiled. She nudged her nose back against his as she mimicked his hands by cupping his cheek as well.

“It makes me so- so very happy to hear you say that to me.”

2B said nothing, opting instead to lean forward and press her lips to his. It was a soft and slow kiss. One she tried to fill with all the emotions and words she couldn’t say out loud. When she pulled back she couldn’t help but snort out loud in amusement at his facial expression. His face was bright red and he looked a bit dazed.

“2B…”

She leaned in to nuzzle his cheek.

“Hmm?”

Arms wove their way around her frame before tugging her into him. He ran his hands up and down her bare back as he chuckled lightly.

“I’m glad we did this. Uh… taking a bath, I mean. As… awkward as I was about it. You’ll… do this again with me sometime, right?”

She nodded her head, causing her nose to graze against his cheek, which in turn caused him to chuckle again.

“Definitely.”

9S cheered out a loud ‘great’ in response before pulling away from her to give her a lopsided grin.

“We should get out now before the water gets cold.”

He turned away to call out to the corner of the room.

“Hey pod! Bring me two towels, please.”

Pod 153 lifted up from her resting place next to 042.

“Affirmative.”

As the pod did as requested, 2B thought to herself. If every time there was a rough day it ended with 9S like this, she would happily drag herself through anything. He was most definitely worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Runaway (feat. Wonder) by CMA
> 
> Edited 1/3/19 - Fixed all the line breaking so it's easier to read.


End file.
